View from the Paddock: the threats and challenges of farming in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe's post-independence was marked by periods of progress and set-back with significant political and economic landscape shifts.
So it felt like quite the oxymoron standing on my mate's farm – 15,000 pecan trees (planting started in 2018), and 1000 head or so of cattle grazing under centre pivots.
Dr Jeremy is a world renowned equine surgeon mate of mine; we vetted Derbies in Mongolia and Argentina over the years. He's hung the scalpel up to build projects and equity – it was incredible to see his vision before me as we sipped coffee on the top of a red-soil ridge about 40-odd kms out of Bulawayo.
Dr Jeremy's family had farmed next door for over a century. Family members are buried there, albeit they had been 'moved on' in the late 90s during an illustrious period of African land reform.
What unfolded was agricultural enterprises being run into the ground – put plainly, people started starving. But as the old colloquialism goes 'You don't grow when you're comfortable' and it appears that farming and agriculture is now welcomed back to postcodes that had shunned its certain principles previously.
But farming in Africa doesn't come without its challenges – sure there's threats from foot and mouth, and lumpy skin but there's the very African-esque clashes between 'centre pivot guards' and miners.
As the price of gold skyrockets globally, so does the thirst for its procurement – locals go into the bush and start digging, even if it means going onto a farm.
What is a centre-pivot guard? Literally staff who sleep and boil a billy with the farming plant at night and make sure it doesn't get stolen. Dr Jeremy elaborated that they have had to burr the centre-pivot gearbox bungs off because the oil would be stolen out of them, which had resulted in multiple gearboxes seizing on the pivots. You literally can't write this stuff…
What brought me to Africa? I had been giving lectures at the African Cattle Vets conference on bovine trichomoniasis and the world's first approach to mobile testing.
The Africans have been battling this disease for some time and attempted to get more calves on the ground – the recent FMD outbreaks had also been a headache. Luckily my portable machines can be used for that too – the Africans are rejoicing on these solutions!
© Copyright The Zimbabwean. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
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